Now for the aftermath.

Ruby lay against one of the walls in the prison. For the better part of the hour after she took down the groups of Nevermores, she healed as many of the former prisoners' injuries as she could. With Cerise in the courtyard of Fort Castle, she was able to lend her Rider a steady stream of energy to help with the healing. Still, Ruby was forced to stop when she almost passed out ten minutes ago. All of the worst visible injuries were dealt with, and most of the cuts were sealed. Strangely though, she felt the temperature drop in the room over the hour. The Faunus didn't seem to mind. Apparently the room was normally over ninety degrees constantly.

The bad part was that Ruby couldn't check if any of them had trackers, or where they were. At least Hazel, the lion Faunus girl, did. Ruby's eyes again drifted to the cloth that covered Moss on the other side of the room. She still couldn't believe that she was too late. If she was a little faster, if she wasn't so terrified going in, the boy might still be alive. What's worse, his little sister was in the room as well. Hazel had gone between Blake and Ruby either latching onto their arms or legs, whichever was in reach.

Atlas soldiers arrived shortly after the explosions started. From what Ruby remembered, they had similar orders as the ones from the previous base. This time they left a medic behind though to help patch up the Faunus. The younger kids hid behind Blake at first, unwilling to go to the medic for one reason or another. Blake had to do a lot of convincing to make them get help.

Eventually though, another soldier entered the prison. "We have cleared the fort. I have a squad ready nearby to escort you all out of here."

Ruby pressed her hands up against the wall to help her stand up the wall to help her stand up. "Are you positive that there isn't anyone else still running around.

The soldier looked at Ruby with intensity, then his shoulders relaxed slightly. "There will be no surprises this time around. We need to move. The captain wants all civilians out of here in fifteen minutes." He turned around and walked out of the room.

Blake walked over to Ruby's side. "Need help walking out of here?"

"Maybe? Let's get down the hall before I know for sure." Ruby looked at all the former prisoners. "We can go now. You should all be back in Vale before sunrise." There were a few sighs of relief from the Faunus, and a few of them started sobbing again. Ruby cast one more glance at Moss, then walked out of the prison, a train of kids following her.

Luckily, the mess Ruby made in the hallway was cleaned up. There were a few chips in the concrete walls and floors, but otherwise there were no signs of battle. The Rider contacted Cerise out in the courtyard. We're on our way out.

Cerise mentally hummed. Atlas has soldiers all around the courtyard. There won't be a repeat of last time.

You okay?

My Aura deflected all of the Dust rounds they sent my way. Nalia wasn't so lucky. She took quite a few rounds, but she kept on fighting. She's resting and being treated by Atlas medics now.

Ruby sighed in relief. I take it Vert's not out there yet?

Not yet. Cerise whimpered slightly. His mind is much like yours was. I hoped I'd never have to feel that haze again…But he's alive, and Aaron, Velvet, and a few soldiers are bringing him out right now.

You hear anything from Yang? She isn't talking to me.

Your sister is being very quiet. I haven't heard anything from her since before you all left the camp.

…Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes. Yang was not being herself. Ruby figured her sister would have been in direct contact with her since Atlas attacked. With how protective Yang got after the first Nevermore base, there was no way she wouldn't at least check in with Ruby every few minutes. Something must have happened up in the command center.

Ruby followed an Atlas soldier out of the building and into the night air. Instead of it being pitch black though, several Atlas vehicles lit up the area. A group of Paladins stood just inside the destroyed main door to the fort. Most of team CFVY stood by the familiar Rover at another point in the courtyard. Nalia was sprawled out near the wall and surrounded by Atlas personnel. Cerise stood near the large dragon, and her eyes immediately bored into Ruby's. It took everything both of them had not to run at each other.

Instead, Ruby walked away from her group and toward her dragon. She calmly wrapped her arms around her dragon's neck and squeezed as herd as she could. Once that happened, she let all of her emotions from the past few hours pour off her. Her whole body shook uncontrollably. She still couldn't believe that she went back into a Nevermore base, even if it was to tear it apart. Then there was the boy dying right in front of her. Ruby squeezed slightly harder.

Cerise hummed and brought her wing down and around her Rider. My Gem, you did everything you could in there. I see nothing you could have done better.

I was too late. I didn't know what to do. Ruby sobbed quietly, now leaning into her dragon's chest.

I believe it was you who said that there are times where you can make no mistakes and still lose.

But I did make mistakes! I-

Ruby, that's enough, Cerise ordered. She pulled back and looked her Rider in the eyes. The dragon's eyes were intense, but they still showed their concern. I won't have you feeling sorry for yourself over things you can't control. You have done something many others haven't. You ran into your nightmare and came out on top. Yang's told me about soldiers with your condition. Soldiers that have your mental state are no longer allowed to be in the military. Those that aren't identified to have it beforehand are more likely to break down in battle. Her eyes softened and she lowered her head. You may not feel like it, but you are the strongest person I know. Yang comes the closest, but you are leagues ahead of her.

Ruby stood there for a second, looking into Cerise' eyes and piecing together what her dragon just said. After a few seconds, the Rider smiled and place her natural hand on her dragon's snout. Thank you. Her confidence faltered for a second though. I'm still not going to want to leave your side for a while.

I believe they'll still let me in the hanger on the Vytal. I'll be close. A light rumble rolled through the courtyard. Cerise snapped her head over to look at it and she lifted her sagging wings off the ground. Vert! She jumped over Ruby and shook the ground when she landed.

Ruby turned around to see the smaller green dragon limping out of a large garage door. Velvet stood by Vert's head, scratching behind one of his ears. Aaron and several other Atlas soldiers stood on either side of the dragon, helping him forward. Half of them moved away from Vert as Cerise approached at a relatively high speed. The red dragon took up position beside the green and took over the role as a crutch. Ruby watched as the two dragons appeared to have a mental communication, even if it was one sided. Sometime after it started, Vert turned his head to look at Velvet. The Faunus nodded, then Vert raised his head and Nuzzled Cerise.

"Oh," Ruby breathed. "That was unexpected."

"Well, they are alive," Blake said, causing Ruby to jump. She never saw her teammate approach. Blake looked at her team leader. "It's not like Cerise didn't do anything to help Velvet either. He could just be saying thanks."

"His mind is clouded." Ruby scratched the back of her head, then yawned. "It's been a long day."

"We've only been here for an hour and a half, at most."

"Yeah, but I'm usually in bed like three or four hours ago, and I'm sure someone on the Vytal will want to talk to us before we go to bed."

"You have a point there." Blake turned her head to the keep. "There they are."

Ruby looked at the building as well, and saw Yang and Weiss walking out of the building, escorted by a few soldiers. Yang was cradling something in her arms, but from that distance Ruby couldn't tell what it was. Also, Yang's mind was still shielded. The younger sister approached the older, and the thing Yang held became more defined. Ruby slowed down as she looked at a very familiar sword in its sheath. "Yang," Ruby whispered when she was close enough, "please tell me that's not what I think it is."

Yang's eyes were red, but not in their usual way. "I can't, Ruby." She moved a hand on the sheath and Ruby gasped. Her symbol was on the sheath. The problem was, Ruby never made a white sword. She took the sheath from Yang and drew the sword.

"Sun's Light…" Ruby's arms shook. "Wh-what's mom's sword doing here?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cerise' head turn to look at her.

"I wish I knew." Yang looked away from Ruby. "I found it in a room right next to the command center. It was hung like a...trophy." She shook her head. "I really hope I'm wrong about why it's there."

Ruby's eyes widened slightly, then took a closer look at her mom's sword. For the most part the blade was clean, if a bit dusty. Closer to the hilt and the pivot point of the blade, on the other hand, Ruby saw old dried blood. She looked around the hilt for the switch to turn the weapon to a sniper and flipped it. The blade spun around and the point locked into the cross-guard. A small but powerful scope popped out of the cross-guard. The process was louder and slower than it should have been, revealing that the mechanism that caused the shift was 'gunked up' in some way.

"Dad never said what mom did for her last mission, did he?" Ruby asked Yang, though her eyes never left the weapon.

"No. I never thought to ask." Yang put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Are you going to be okay, Ruby?"

The younger sister shook her head as she sheathed the sword. "First I run into a place I never wanted to go again, then I watched someone die, and now this?"

"You what?" Yang brought Ruby into a tight hug, with the latter holding her mom's sword off to the side. "What happened?"

"The chains were electrified before I got to the room. I was too slow." Ruby wrapped her hands around Yang's back, still holding the sword. "Everything in that room…it was so much like before."

"Don't think about that. Don't think at all." Yang paused for a second. "Just look behind you." Ruby did as told and saw all the Faunus kids being loaded onto one of Atlas' transports. "We did that. All those kids are going home."

"But Hazel was here again."

"Hazel?" Yang asked confused.

"The lion Faunus girl from before." Yang stiffened and searched the crowd. "We need to get the trackers out of them soon."

"It's not like they can be used anymore. Weiss said the controls for that were smashed in our fight in the command center."

"I'm sorry to break this up," a voice called from behind Ruby, "but your team needs to be on the next bird out of here." Ruby turned around to see a soldier in officer's armor pointing at a transport coming in for a landing.

The team leader nodded, then walked over to Cerise, who was watching soldiers strapping Vert to the back another transport. Ruby grabbed one of the saddlebags and removed her weapon cleaning supplies.

Cerise turned to face her Rider. Do you think your mother could have-

Please don't say it, Ruby interrupted. I don't want to think about it.

You know where to find me. Cerise nuzzled her Rider, then turned her attention back to Vert. Ruby looked in the same direction and saw Velvet standing by her dragon's head. Coco walked over to her teammate and placed a hand on Velvet's shoulder. They exchanged a few words, and the newest Rider nodded. She hugged Vert's snout, then walked with Coco away from the dragon.

Ruby walked over to where her team stood outside a transport. They were talking amongst themselves, though it wasn't one of their normal animated conversations. After the day's events, that was expected. Blake turned to Ruby as she approached. "Are you sure that's you mom's sword?"

The girl nodded slowly, then looked at the sword she was still holding. "I just don't know why its here."

"Someone on the ship might be able to put together a timeline," Weiss suggested. "There might be a paper trail…somehow."

"I'm just hoping dad doesn't shut down again after he finds out about this." Yang shook her head. "This might just be too much."

"We should probably get on this thing." Aaron gestured to the transport. "I don't want to spend any more time here than necessary." There were nods of agreement in the group and they walked up the ramp of the transport. Shortly after they took their seats, the entirety of team CFVY joined them. For the first time in several days, Velvet wasn't completely tensed up. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes once she sat down.

"How's Vert?" Ruby asked as the ramp of the transport closed.

"Better than he was a few hours ago." Velvet opened her eyes and looked at the other Riders in the transport. "He can't talk right now, but he can listen and understand. Apparently he liked that Cerise offered me a wing last night. Physically, he can't walk without help, even after Aaron healed all the holes in his skin." She turned to the aforementioned guy. "Again, thank you so much for stopping that sword."

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm still not sure how I did that."

"What happened?" Ruby looked between Aaron and Velvet.

"I stuck my hand out to cast a spell, but a green wall appeared between Vert and a Nevermore. The guy's sword bounced off the wall, then Velvet took him down."

Ruby sat up a little straighter. "I take it there was some sort of energy drain?"

"It drained from my Aura, not me."

There was a moment of silence in the enclosed space until Blake broke it. "Sounds like you found your Semblance."

"Is your team fast with everything?" Coco asked, looking over her sunglasses at Ruby.

The red Rider fought the urge to run a hand over an ear. "We try. By the way, how'd you do outside?"

"It turns out most of those guns we saw outside were either just for show or inoperable. They had nothing that could get through the Rover's armor. Still, they had a lot of small arms firing on us. Yatsu had to take my place in the turret a few times so my Aura wouldn't be completely depleted. Fox stayed behind with the Atlas ambush force in case the Nevermores sent anyone after us."

Ruby nodded and looked at her sister. "Why'd you go radio silent in there? I figured you'd be checking in on me every five minutes."

Yang shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I found mom's sword. I wasn't thinking straight." Her voice lacked her usual confidence.

"Yang, what happened up there?" Now all eyes were turned to the blonde.

"I…" Yang looked at her lap, "I killed someone up there." For several seconds the only sound in the transport was the sound of engines. There weren't even any stunned gasps.

"What?" Ruby eventually managed to whisper.

"It happened so fast," Yang continued. "The first thing he did was say that the daughters of Rose finally came to take him down." Ruby did gasp that time, and looked at the sword in her lap. "We exchanged a few blows, then he said that Summer died like a dog…" Yang clenched her eyes and shook her head.

"This wasn't in revenge was it?" Aaron asked calmly.

"His Aura should have held. I wouldn't have knocked Weiss' out by that point." Yang balled her fists. "He was a monster. Why do I feel like this?"

"The first is the worst, but taking a life is never easy." Aaron's voice turned soothing. "Sometimes it's the only way to end a situation."

"You did say he put a gun under your chin, Yang," Weiss added.

"What?!" Ruby shouted. Weiss winced, most likely regretting her word choice.

"My Aura held…" Yang glared at Weiss, then looked away from Ruby, but the damage was already done. Ruby felt all the heat leave her body and her grip on her mom's sword loosened ever so slightly. Apparently the heat left the cabin as well, for most of team CFVY wrapped their arms around themselves and shivered.

"Who turned on the AC that much?" Coco growled.

Yang finally turned back to Ruby. "I'm alright. All of us are alright and…almost everyone's going home. We did everything we could do. That's what matters here."

"Yeah, but…" Ruby looked at her lap, then Cerise forced her way into her Rider's mind.

What did I just say on the ground? Cerise' voice was soothing, yet almost scolding. Ruby sighed and nodded.

"You were saying something Ruby?" Blake asked.

"I thought better of it." The transport gently shook and the back door started to lower. Those inside the main cabin stood up and waited for the ramp to lower. Ruby saw a few soldiers come into view. Two wore standard combat armor, one the uniform or a high ranking officer. Judging by the pins on his chest, he was the first officer. The two soldiers that stood by his side saluted those on the transport.

Ruby stepped off the transport and walked over to the man. "Ruby Rose," he began. "It's an honor to officially meet you." The other two soldiers lowered their arms.

"I don't know what I've done." Ruby shook the commander's outstretched hand. "The first time I was kind of…not all there, and this time it was a complete team effort."

"I'm sure you've been told that you've done more than you think plenty of times before, so I won't go into it." The commander looked at the rest of the people coming off the transport. "If you would all follow me." He turned on a heel and started walking away. Ruby followed closely behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cerise escort the transport carrying Vert into the hanger. Ruby sighed in relief. Everyone she went out with came back physically in one piece.

The two teams followed the commander through several hallways. No one really said anything, and Ruby occasionally glanced down at the sword she still held. She couldn't get all the questions out of her head, and nobody around her would have the answers. Maybe when whoever finished whatever questioning, Ruby could get some answers.

The commander opened a door to a conference room. "Some of you may find this place familiar," he told the group.

"The rut in the floor Weiss made still there?" Yang asked, most likely to lighten the mood.

To Ruby's surprise, the commander smirked. "It was filled shortly afterward by the tears of the Nevermores we had here." That got a chuckle out of a few people. Under normal circumstances, it would have gotten a lot more, especially from Yang. Ruby stepped inside and took a seat at the large table. She placed Sun's Light on the table in front of her.

"Can't say I ever wanted to be in this room again," Weiss mumbled.

"At least this time it's under better circumstances." Blake sat down across from Ruby.

"How long did it take for someone to talk with your guys last time?" Coco asked no one in particular.

"Way too long." Yang sighed. "I'm still upset with them about that."

"If that's the case…" Ruby unsheathed her mom's sword and started looking it over with a more critical eye. There wasn't much cleaning she could do without taking the weapon apart. Still, she had to do something while waiting for someone to come in. If she could avoid thinking about what could have happened, she'd take it.

"Vert?" Velvet said suddenly.

Ruby looked up from her work to look at the Faunus. "Everything alright?"

Velvet slowly nodded. "He's starting to talk again." Her shoulders lowered, their tension released. Ruby smiled, then returned to cleaning.

After what felt like an hour later, the door to the conference room opened. Ruby sheathed her mom's sword and held it on her lap. The woman that entered the room sat down and laid a few folders down on the table. Ruby lost track of how long the debriefing went, and the only think keeping her awake was the weapon on her lap. The woman pretty much asked everyone to explain in detail what happened and why they did it. If that was how all debriefings worked, Ruby was glad she didn't have to work with the military on a daily basis.

As the questions were winding down, the woman turned to Ruby. "I saw you had a sword when I came in, and I know you fight with a scythe. If that is from Fort Castle, I'm going to need that for evidence."

Ruby stiffened up and cradled Sun's Light in her arms. "With all due respect ma'am, unless you're ordering me to hand it over, this sword is staying with me." There was a slight venom to her voice that was completely unintentional.

The woman looked like she was about to protest, then she raised a hand to her ear. "Yes?...No I am finished in here…" There was a much longer pause and her face didn't change. "Yes sir." She looked at the group in front of her. "I'm going to have to ask that Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long stay in this room. The rest of you will follow me to where you will be staying the remainder of your time aboard the Vytal." She stood up and opened the door, leaving no room for argument.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other as the rest of their friends filed past them. The look on the older sister's face said she had no idea what was going on. Ruby looked down at the sword in her arms. She had a bad feeling about this. Her mind jumped to something more immediate. "Hopefully they let Aaron get the trackers out of everyone." Ruby rubbed the spot on her neck where Yang said Aaron took it out.

"If it's anything like last time, they'll be running him until he passes out." Yang sighed. "I don't need to guess what you're thinking about, do I?"

Ruby shook her head. "Just the two of us, you found mom's sword in that place, what else could this be about?" They didn't have to wait long for an answer. The door opened again and the first officer stepped in.

"Commander Bradford," Yang greeted. "What's this about?"

Bradford sighed. "I wish I had better news for you girls. You two have the right to know." He placed a manila folder in front of Ruby, who opened it slowly. Her eyes widened at the pictures inside.

Yang looked over her sister's shoulder and drew a sharp breath in. "What? Where did you get these?" All the pictures looked like normal family photos from many, many years ago. Ruby being tickle attacked by Yang and Summer, Ruby caught with her hand in a cookie jar, Ruby and Yang asleep on their parents' laps, if it happened a lot in their childhood, it was there. The problem was all of them were taken from outside their house.

"They were in a room just off the command center, in a file marked 'Rose.' That is only a small sample of what was in there. Your mother was a thorn in the side of the Nevermores for years. She apparently cost them millions." Bradford paused. "There was also a video of the last five minutes of your mother's life."

Ruby couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Nevermores had pictures of her as a kid, her mom's sword, and video documentation of her mom's death? The Rider was surprised her eyes didn't start leaking then and there. Still, there was a part of her that wanted to know what exactly happened to her mom. "Can we see the video?

Bradford raised an eyebrow while Yang put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Ruby, are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to know, Yang. We haven't known for thirteen years. Don't tell me you've never wanted to know." Yang looked at Sun's light for a few seconds, then nodded.

The light in the room dimmed slightly and a hologram appeared on the other side of the room. "If at any point you want it to stop, just say so," Bradford said from behind the sisters. Yang wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders and pulled her close.

Cerise also joined in. She flooded her mind into her Rider's. Ruby could feel her soulmate using her eyes and ears. I'm with you, my Gem.

The video started with what looked like a first person view from a helmet. It moved from side to side, and multiple mounted machine guns lined an inner wall in Fort Castle. The courtyard was clear of any vehicles or anti-aircraft weaponry that was there in the most recent battle. Many Nevermores peaked their heads out of cover to look down into the courtyard, all of them had rifles or other long range weaponry on them.

After several seconds passed, the large main doors opened. One person in a white cloak stormed in. Though the quality wasn't the best at range, Ruby could see the figure wearing a black combat skirt and black hair giving way to red. She breathed in sharply. "Mom…"

Summer Rose looked directly at the camera. "Well I'm here! Alone! Do what you want with me, but do not hurt my family!" Her fury was at the forefront of her voice, but Ruby also picked out desperation.

The man behind the camera laughed. "You stupid girl. I was never going to let your family live." Ruby and Yang stiffened at the revelation.

On screen, Summer did as well. "What?!"

"If your kids turn out like their parents and uncle, they will come searching for answers. I can't have that. Don't worry though, they won't be taken here. We don't take human prisoners. Their deaths will be quick."

Yang growled. "Bull. Shit." She pulled Ruby in closer.

Summer drew her sword from beneath her cloak and flipped it to its sniper form. "Cowards!"

"Maybe. The difference is, this coward will survive and profit." All the men on the walls stood up from behind cover and aimed down into the courtyard.

Ruby didn't expect what happened next. Her mom's eyes started glowing and her cloak started billowing in a wind that wasn't there a second before. Summer screamed, "Like hell, you will!" She fired a shot at the man behind the camera, and the screen went fuzzy.

"No, no!" Ruby practically jumped out of her chair. She turned to look at Bradford. "What happened?"

"The footage was corrupted at the source," the commander said. "It's like this for a few minutes, then it plays normally."

Ruby nodded slowly then sat back down. "He wanted us dead. What threat could we have been at the time?"

Yang brought her little sister into a hug. "Like he said. We weren't a threat at the time, but now look at us. Still, if he wanted us dead why are we still here?" She pulled back a little. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure the guy who was speaking was the guy I…" Yang let the thought hang.

"…Not really, but at least he can't hurt anyone else again." Ruby thought about what happened right before her mom shot at the speaker. "Did mom's eyes glow when she teleported?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure she didn't cause a wind like that either, unless she was holding out on us."

Ruby nodded, then looked roughly to where Cerise lay. Using a dragon's near perfect memory could help. Could you help me out here?

If you tell me what we're looking for, I can help.

Mom and dad used to play two person monkey in the middle, with mom teleporting to either side. Ruby felt her dragon dive into parts of her mind she didn't know existed. This didn't last long though, as a vivid memory overlaid what was actually going on in the room. Summer threw a ball over Taiyang's head over to where no one was. Then in a flash of rose petals, Summer caught the ball and threw it again. This went on a few more times, and Ruby tried to focus on her mom's eyes, but it was hard to work around an already existing memory.

Just as quickly as the memory came, it disappeared. Yang was gently shaking Ruby's shoulder. "Hey Rubes, you alright."

Ruby couldn't help but smile, current situation aside. "Mom's eyes didn't glow and there was no wind effect beforehand." Her smile disappeared. "Then what was that?" She once again looked at her mom's sword. She knew what was coming, she just didn't know how.

The girl looked up and saw the footage was clearing up. Legs and a bloody left arm became visible. The man was limping across the floor. Soon, white stuff started to cover the floor. "Is that snow?" Yang asked.

Ruby cocked her head. "Ice Dust? I wouldn't be surprised if someone could do that." A few steps in, the snow turned red, and Ruby felt her stomach knot. The camera looked up, and a lone figure was crawling through the snow, toward the large hole in the main doors. The wrecks of several mounted turrets lined the edge of the courtyard. A few bodies could be seen through the snow.

The camera looked down again, and the man behind it picked up a sword semi-buried in the snow. Ruby whimpered as a bloody Sun's Light was handled by someone other than her mom. The man behind the camera walked over to the figure on the ground, and placed a foot on the blood stained white cloak. He kicked Summer over to reveal her face beaten, scratched, and missing an eye.

Yang tightened her grip around Ruby. "Commander, I think we've seen-"

"Keep it going," Ruby interrupted. She didn't know what drove her to say that, but she couldn't take her eyes off the screen. Some tears finally escaped her eyes. Cerise mentally hummed and sent even more of herself into Ruby's head.

On screen, Summer glared at her assailant with her good eye. She raised her left arm and her eye glowed again. Before anything could happen though, the man behind the camera drove his stolen sword into Summer's left shoulder. She didn't even scream, she just grunted as her hand fell to the ground. "How does it feel to be killed with your own weapon?"

Summer continued to glare and spat out blood. "How's it feel to have most of your operation to be dismantled by one huntress?"

The man growled and withdrew the sword. "Any last words, witch?"

The defiance in Summer's eye faded as she laid her head back in the snow. "Yang…Ruby…I'm sorry."

That was the final straw for Ruby. She closed her eyes and covered them with a hand of good measure. "Okay! Stop! I've seen enough!" For several seconds the only sound in the room was Ruby's heavy breathing. A door opened and then closed. Commander Bradford most likely left.

Yang brought her sister into a full hug. "Why did you want to go farther? We knew what was going to happen. We didn't need to see that."

"I did. There was a chance that something good could have happened." Ruby sobbed into her sister's shoulder. "She was thinking about us the while time. Think we helped out?"

"I know we did." Yang rubbed her sister's back. "Mom was a total badass. Did you see how many people she took down by herself? It's not like she was fighting an actual military, but still. Can you imagine what she could do to Grimm?"

"She could probably take out Deathstalkers in her sleep." Ruby pulled back and rubbed the right side of her head. "That's one more thing I have in common with her." She looked up at her sister's face, which was also leaking tears.

"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would." Yang used an arm to dry her face.

"It just confirmed what we already knew. She went down fighting." Ruby turned to look at Sun's Light still sitting on the table. She froze for a second as she remembered the video. How much of that caked on blood was her mom's? "I'm really going to have to give that a thorough cleaning."

Yang sighed and nodded. "We should get back to the others and hopefully get some sleep." She paused. "Let me guess, you're going to need help?"

"Probably." Ruby grabbed her mom's sword off the table and just held it for a few seconds. The weapon may have taken Summer Rose's life, but it wasn't Sun's Light at the time. Her dad might not see it the same way though. He had as much of a right to know as anyone. That wasn't going to be a fun thing to explain.

So yeah. Summer is dead, and some of you may realize what I'm doing power wise now. To those who don't understand, I'll explain when it's smack in the face obvious, or until enough people guess in the reviews. There's enough psychics reading this for that to be possible.

Also, if you're in the Navy or have been at some point, did I get the ranking system right? I it doesn't have to be 100% accurate, but I want it to be close.

This is the last intentional stab in the heart chapter for a while. I have up to 38 written right now. There are feels, maybe a slight stab at some point, but next chapter healing begins.